Why are our knees so prone to injury?

Why are our knees so prone to injury? © Getty Images

The bottom of your thigh bone sits on top of the shin bone, and the joint is held together by ligaments and muscles that can easily be sprained and torn.

As well as being structurally less stable, the knee joint is also far more restricted as it can only move forwards and backwards with a very limited amount of twisting. The moment the knee is no longer aligned with the foot, it relies on the ligaments and muscles for stability – which can easily be pushed too far and cause injury.

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Asked by: Caitlin Byrne, Dublin

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from BBC Science Focus Magazine https://ift.tt/icGFyQj

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